Who's Your Daddy?
by Cubit2
Summary: What does it mean to be a Daddy? After Rachel's startling revelation in 5.22 that question hits home for Danny. Spoilers for 5.22, 5.24 and 2.15 and many other episodes. Too many to list. Danny whump/Steve comfort. No slash! Never have. Never will.
1. Chapter 1

Who's Your Daddy?

Disclaimer: The characters are not mine (neither is the Camaro).

Spoilers for 5.22, 5.24 Luapo'I and 2.15 Mai Ka Wa Kahiko and general spoilers.

Recently got hooked on Hawaii Five 0 and this story just grabbed me and wouldn't let go. Figured I'd try this fanfic writing out. No Beta. All mistakes are mine. Reviews may make me come back and write some of the other stories that H50 keeps inspiring in my head.

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Three days after the bone marrow transplant from Danny to Charlie, Danny picked Steve up to head to the Palace. It was his first day back.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Steve asked as he settled in to the passenger seat. Usually Steve insisted that he drive Danny's very cool Camaro but when Danny picked him up today he didn't have the heart to make him get out and switch seats. He knew he had to still be sore from the bone marrow extraction procedure.

Danny eyebrows raised in surprise. "You're gunna let me drive my own car?"

"You drive sometimes," Steve protested before Danny pinned him with a look. "Okay, not very often, but today you get a free pass."

"A free pass? A free pass to drive my own car? Thank you very much for your overwhelming generosity. Trying to prove you're human after all?" Danny tossed back, hands moving as he spoke.

"You didn't answer my question. How're you feeling?"

"Woah! Two signs of humanity in one minute. Must be a good day."

"Answer the question."

Danny sighed, not particularly enjoying being worried over. "I'm still a little sore, alright? Bothers me more when I'm sitting too long. It's better if I keep moving."

"You shouldn't have a problem with that," Steve chuckled. Danny was non-stop motion anyway.

"Yeah, except I'm stuck on desk duty which means a lot of sitting as I catch up on YOUR paperwork my friend."

Steve felt it best to avoid that topic. "How's the headache?" Danny had developed a pounding headache as he recovered from the anesthesia.

"It's pretty much gone. I'm telling you, I'm fine."

And Charlie? How's he doing?"

Danny sighed, puffing air out of his cheeks. He had only found out that Charlie was his son a few weeks ago, the same time he found out that Charlie was sick and needed the transplant. Until then he was just Stan's kid who was always around when he picked up or dropped off Grace. But now he loved him with all his heart already.

"So far the transplant seems to be a success. It'll take time before they know for sure. He's hurting but he's a tough kid."

"Like father, like son," Steve smirked.

"I have a son, Steve," Danny said in reply, shaking his head. "Sometimes it's hard to wrap my head around it. But he's a part of me and it might not make sense to you, but I love him already. I mean, really love him."

It didn't surprise Steve one bit. If there was one thing Danny Williams did exceptionally well, it was loving people, especially kids. But, he knew there was more on Danny's mind.

"But…?"

Danny sighed again. "But to him, I'm still just Danno. Grace's dad. I've been there so many times the past few weeks. Stan would walk in and Charlie would run to him, arms wide open, calling 'Daddy!' My presence in the room meant nothing to him."

"Give it time, Danny."

"I know that," Danny nearly shouted, turning to look at his partner with a look of disbelief. "You don't think I know that? Rachel told him, but he's only three; he doesn't understand. He loves fire trucks, right? I mean, most boys do, sirens and all that. I want to tell him that his granddad was a fireman. He'd think that was so cool. But I can't. It would just confuse him and he's going through too much right now."

They continued in silence. Steve didn't know what to say to ease his friend's pain. He hated feeling helpless.

"You know, I've never even held him, Steve. Never held my own son. Not once. A fist bump and a pat on the head are the only physical contact I've ever had with my own son!" He sank back into his seat, shifting a little as he felt the soreness in his back. "Don't you dare ask me if I'm alright," he warned Steve with a small smile.

Danny's phone rang before Steve could reply and he tapped the button to pick it up on speakerphone. "Williams."

"What do you want Williams? Your messages are clogging up my voicemail." Danny knew it was Stan but Steve didn't recognize the voice. Steve looked out the window, trying to give Danny some semblance of privacy.

"Well, if you'd answer your phone or even bother to call me back, I wouldn't have to keep leaving messages, would I?"

"What do you want Williams? I have a business to run."

A million snarky comments popped into Danny's mind at that one but he kept them to himself. They wouldn't help.

"I told you in those messages, Stan," Danny said.

"I didn't listen to them. Enlighten me."

Danny glanced at Steve who had turned when he heard Stan's name. "Charlie's been asking for you."

"Asking for me? You mean he's saying 'Where is Stan Edwards?'"

Danny gripped the steering wheel tighter. "He's asking for his daddy."

"Sounds to me like it's your problem then."

"My problem?"

"Well, according to Rachel YOU'RE his Daddy."

Danny glanced at Steve again, who was giving him the most supportive look right now. "Seriously? You're doing this now? He's three years old Stan…"

"Yeah, about that," Stan hissed. "I need to talk to my lawyer about collecting back child support from you, seeing as I've been paying for YOUR kid for three years."

Steve shook his head in disgust. This situation Rachel made was really ugly and these two men bore the brunt of it.

"I'm not even going to go there right now, Stan. Look, I know you probably want to take a swing at me or something, but…"

"Actually, I'd like to put a bullet through your shoulder," Stan shouted at him, in a blunt reminder of what Danny was forced to do a couple years earlier to save Grace's life.

"I'm gunna pretend I didn't hear that," Danny said, jaw clenched in anger.

Low blow; now Danny will let him have it, Steve thought. But he was wrong.

"Look," Danny said, pulling himself together. "This is not about you or me or even Rachel. This is about Charlie, a three-year-old boy who is in pain in the hospital and desperately wants to see his daddy. Daddy, not father." Danny's angry tone was shifting to one of sadness as he went on. "You've loved him as your son for three years, Stan. You held him when he was an infant and he couldn't sleep. You were the one he smiled at for the first time. You caught him when he was learning to sit up and he started to topple over. You fed him strained peas and ducked when he spit them back out. You held his hand as he learned to walk and picked him up when he fell. You were the one he saw when he first said 'dada'. Surely, you can put aside your pain and anger to give him the same love you've given him for three years. Yeah, I'm his father, but you're his Daddy, and you're the one he needs."

Tears filled Danny's eyes by this time, and his voice reflected the anguish at recounting all the things he had missed with his son. He sniffed and wiped his eyes with his sleeve. Even Steve had to swipe at his own eyes, although he'd claim it was dust in the air if anybody asked.

There was silence on the line for a long moment. "Stan, you there?" Danny asked.

"Yeah," Stan answered in a choked voice, all the bluster gone. "I'll go with Rachel tonight. You going to be there?"

"I can stay away if that will help," Danny offered, although he wanted nothing more than to be with his sick son as much as he could right now.

"Ok." Stan said. And with that the phone clicked as Stan hung up.

Danny puffed his cheeks and let out a long breath, eyes straight ahead as he continued driving. Long moments of silence passed with Steve staring at Danny.

"What?" Danny queried, looking at him.

"What, what?" Steve replied.

"You've got a face."

"I told you I don't have faces."

"Yes, you do have faces and that, my friend, is a face. So what is it?"

"I don't know how you do it."

Danny looked at him strangely. "Do what? Yell at my lying ex-wife's husband?"

"No, how are you so nice to him?"

"Nice? Was I being nice? I wasn't trying to be nice."

"You told him that he's Charlie's daddy. Not that he WAS his dad, that he IS his dad. You told him you'd stay away if that made visiting Charlie easier. Sometimes partner, you amaze me. I don't know if I could do that."

"You're a super-SEAL. You wouldn't have gotten yourself into this tumultuous chaos of a life I'm in, in the first place."

"I've had my share of chaos."

"Like this?" Danny asked, incredulous, waving his hand around as if it could point to his problems.

"Well, not quite like this," Steve admitted. "But I still don't know how you do it."

Tears pricked at Danny's eyes. His voice was rough with emotion as he pulled into the parking lot. "He lost his son, Steve. One minute he had a son, the next he didn't. Even if he and Rachel actually manage to stay together, Charlie will still never be his real son again. Charlie may live with him and even call him Daddy, but that doesn't change the facts. That relationship is permanently and irrevocably changed." He took a deep breath and went on as he pulled into the parking spaace. "He's had his heart torn out of his chest and stomped on. As much as I don't like the guy, he's a victim in this. None of this is his fault. I carry my share of blame here, but he doesn't."

With that, Danny cut the engine and got out of the car. Steve was speechless and took a moment to start moving.

"You gunna sit there all day?" Danny asked, looking in through the open door.

"I don't know what to say."

"Do me a favor and don't say anything. Just leave it. You coming?" As Steve got out of the car, Danny shut his door and headed towards the building. Steve's quick strides had him catch up quickly.

"So, what kind of gift do you think Charlie would want from Uncle Steve? I have three years of gifts to catch up on. " Steve was hoping this approach would help lighten Danny's spirits just a bit. "Oh, I know the perfect gift."

Danny stopped suddenly and turned to look at Steve. "Woah, woah, wait a minute. I'm not sure I like the sound of that. Perfect gift? From a Neanderthal like you? I'm retaining veto power over any and all gifts Steven."

"Veto power? That's so unfair. You'll make me buy him ties and loafers." Steve said, trying to keep a straight face as he slapped Danny on the back and they started to walk again. Danny could only shake his head and laugh.

finis


	2. Chapter 2

SPOILERS! Can't even begin to tell you how many episodes this has spoilers for.

I don't own the characters or anything. This is just to get this story out of my head.

T for language. I normally try to avoid it, but just couldn't imagine some of this without it.

I have been disappointed so far this season (6). They've totally ignored the Charlie storyline, they've had Steve partnered in the field with every team member as much as he has been with his own partner, they didn't have a Steve/Danny hurt/comfort scene when Catherine left and, from the previews of next week's episode, it looks like Danny's not even in it so who knows who will be there for Steve. So, this story, (originally conceived simply because I didn't know about marking the story complete and I felt like I needed to add to it), has developed in such a way as to cover some of that. It has taken on a life of it's own. I guess when our boys get going, nothing can stop them.

This has not been beta'd. All mistakes are mine. If something is glaring, please let me know.

I have the whole story written but it seems too long to post all at once so I'll post in parts as often as I can.

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Today was the day that Danny had been awaiting for many months. Charlie was going to spend an entire evening with him alone. Any time they had spent together until now had been at Stan and Rachel's house, at the hospital, or with Grace along. Today, Grace was going to a friend's house after school for a sleepover and he would finally get a chance to be alone with his son for a few hours. He was excited and nervous, eager and anxious. He had told the whole Five-O team and his happiness was contagious while his nervousness was evident.

Which was why he was now pleading with his partner for the umpteenth time in the last few minutes.

"Steve, I'm begging you, let's just go back to the office – the office that's nice and safe mind you – and arrange for the proper warrants for tomorrow. I'll even do all the paperwork myself." He didn't want to mention the fact that he always ended up with the paperwork anyway because it wouldn't help his case. Hands pressed together as he spoke, he went on. "Then I'll go get Charlie and you and I can go after these thugs all legal-like and backed up by SWAT tomorrow."

"We're not going after them today. I just want to drive by and take a look. A little recon, you know?'

"Yes, I do know. I know YOU, McGarrett and there's no such thing as simply taking a look. If we get near these nut-jobs anything can happen."

"Nothing's gunna happen."

"They'll be writing that on my tomb-stone someday," Danny mumbled. "What if they spot us. Huh? If they spot us, they're gunna run. And if they run, You're gunna go all Rambo and run after them and then, since I'm your 'back-up' I'm gunna have to run too and then I'll be late to pick up Charlie. Unless you get me shot and then I won't get there at all and he'll think I don't want to be with him."

"You have an overactive imagination, Danno."

"Me? I have an overactive imagination? This from Mr 'I know a thousand ways to kill you with a toothpick?' " He huffed. "And don't call me Danno," he added with more volume.

"I thought you didn't mind me calling you Danno?"

"I don't mind it when you act like a normal human being, but when you get all control freak on me like this I can't stand it. Turn around and let's go back to the office so I can go get Charlie. Please!?"

Ignoring Danny's rant, Steve turned the corner. "This is the street."

Danny was a consummate professional so despite his anger and frustration, he stopped talking and became alert. They both spotted it at the same time – a black sedan parked in front of the address they had, one of the men they were looking for walking toward it. Steve immediately dialed a conference call to the team telling them they had a visual so the address must be correct.

"Ok, so we know the address is correct, so now we can get the proper warrants and come back tomorrow and nail these suckers," Danny said as Steve pulled away from the curb and began to follow the black sedan.

"Woah, woah, what are you doing?" Danny asked in an agitated voice. "You said you just wanted to take a look. I'm begging you, please, don't do this."

"Are you following them?" Chin asked, the others still on the open line as they each turned on their car's blue lights and headed towards Steve and Danny's location.

"He's following them," Danny confirmed. "He's driving MY car, the car I need to go pick up my son, and he's following them! Steve, could you just be prudent for once?"

"Did you actually use the word prudent in a sentence?" Steve asked.

"Yes, I did. An interrogative sentence, actually," Danny confirmed, his voice escalating as he spoke, hands waving. "Prudent, as in using the brain God gave you to make decisions that you won't regret later!"

Danny didn't get to continue as Steve interrupted. "We've been made."

The black sedan picked up speed and Steve pressed the gas pedal of the Camaro to keep pace.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Danny shouted, as he held on to the handle above the door for dear life.

The sedan was no match for the Camaro and soon Steve had pulled alongside and then passed the slower car on the empty back road. Zooming past, he turned the steering wheel hard and hit the breaks, spinning the car 270 degrees and putting the Camaro directly in the path of the car he was pursuing as he had done many times before. But the driver of the black sedan wasn't quick enough or skilled enough and despite trying desperately to turn his car to avoid it, his passenger side door slammed directly into the passenger side door of the Camaro.

"Shit!" Danny yelled before everything went black.

Chin, Kono, and Lou heard the screeching breaks and Danny's shout, then a loud bang, the sound of scraping metal and breaking glass, they heard a door open and Steve shout "foot pursuit" and then silence.

"I only heard one door open," Lou said.

"Danny?" Kono shouted into the phone from her car. "Danny?"

tbc


	3. Chapter 3

AN: I don't own the characters or anything. This is just to get this story out of my head.

Thanks for all the great reviews. I appreciate each and every one of them. They motivate me. I answered some of them but time ran short. It was either keep replying or post another chapter. I hope posting was the right choice. Thank you for the follows and favorites, as well. Wow! I am humbled.

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Then they heard him moan, as their hearts pounded in their chests.

"Danny, you alright brah?" Chin, normally able to maintain a calm disposition, had an edge to his voice. Hearing an accident like that and being unable to help yet was unnerving to say the least, but when you had no idea what kind of shape your friend was in, that was unbearable.

Another moan. At least they knew he was alive.

"Talk to me Danny!" Kono tried.

"Kono?" he whispered. His voice sounded strangled and laced with pain, but relief filled all three to hear him speaking at all.

"We're on our way," Lou told him. "Just be a few minutes. Where's Steve? He ok?"

"Stupid Rambo Neanderthal," Danny began to mumble as he started to move, only to be cut off by a gasp of pain.

"Danny, don't try to move. Just stay put. I'm around the corner," Kono told him. She had been the first to leave the office at the end of the day so she was slightly ahead of the others.

Turning the corner, Kono saw the black sedan turned sideways in the open road, drivers side door facing her. Sandwiched against its passenger door was the passenger door of Danny's Camaro. Over the phone line she could still hear Danny's heavy breathing and grunts and groans. He definitely wasn't staying put.

Pulling to a stop and wanting nothing more than to run to the Camaro and check on her teammate, Kono knew she had to assess the situation first. She had been trained by the best and they would expect no less of her.

Drawing her sidearm, Kono advanced on the sedan slowly, circling it quickly and making sure there was nobody inside and no threat to any of them. As she holstered her gun, Chin turned the corner behind her and she ran to the open driver side door of the Camaro.

The impact had pushed the passenger door into Danny. The right side of his face was bleeding from a cut near his eye and dripping down the side of his face onto his shirt. His right arm was in front of his body in an odd position but he had already maneuvered his left leg out of the passenger foot well and into the driver side. Grunting with pain, he was shifting his weight to extract the other one as well.

"Sedan is clear," Kono shouted to Chin as he got out of his car. "Call an ambulance."

"No!" Danny protested vehemently, weak voice laced with pain. "No ambulance. I'm getting out of here and going to get Charlie."

"Danny…" Chin started

Danny's voice was quiet. It took alot out of him just to speak. "It'll take too much time. I'm not going to miss this time with my son. I'm not going to make him think I don't want to be with him. It's just not going to happen. I'm going to get there if you help me or not, but it'll be a helluva lot easier if you give me a hand."

His right arm still positioned awkwardly in front of him, his shoulder distorted, Danny was now leaning across the driver's seat and pulling his right leg out of the foot well. Chin shoved the phone back in his pocket and reached in through the door to grab Danny under the arms. Danny grunted in pain as Chin reached under his right arm but ground out "keep going, don't stop" through gritted teeth.

Lou was there now and the three of them pulled Danny the rest of the way out of the car and got him on the ground leaning up against the back wheel of Lou's big Suburban.

"You shouldn't be moving him," came Steve's breathless voice from behind them as he rounded the car.

"Shut the hell up, Rambo! Just shut the hell up!" Danny was livid, his voice much stronger than before, but gravelly and ragged. "I begged. I pleaded. I would have got down on my knees if we weren't in the car. What more did you want? You just had to take a look. Had to do recon. Had to chase him down. Stupid Neanderthal. Try being human just once in your life!"

Knowing he deserved that rant and a whole lot more, Steve ignored the barbs and replied simply, "I'm sorry Danny."

"Don't! Just don't!" Danny growled. 'I'm sorry' was just not going to cut it right now. He noticed that Steve was alone - no bad guy in cuffs with him. "Tell me he didn't get away? All this and he's gone? Now they know we're onto them and they'll all disappear."

Lou, Chin and Kono all looked at Steve. Danny had a point. This whole escapade had severely changed the game plan and Five-O was now at a disadvantage.

"I was close to him and then I realized you weren't behind me. I knew something had to have happened if you didn't have my back so I came back to check on you."

"Really? Seriously? So losing him is my fault now? You had to come and check things out. Couldn't wait to do it the right way. Because you never listen to me! Do I tell you how to be a SEAL? No! So why do you think you know better than me how to be a cop? Crazy, psycho Army guy."

"Navy."

"You think I care? Army, Navy, Freakin' Air Force. You're nuts, just plain crazy." Danny waved his left arm in emphasis and the movement sent a jolt of pain through his injured right shoulder. He gasped in pain, a sheen of sweat across his brow.

"Stay still. Your shoulder's dislocated," Steve said, trying to diffuse the anger as much as possible.

"No shit Sherlock. You gunna stand there and watch it swell even more or use some of those Super-SEAL skills and put it back in place so I can go get my son?"

"You need anesthesia. It's gunna hurt like hell," Steve protested. He really didn't want to cause Danny any more pain than he had already caused.

"I don't care. I'm from Jersey, we don't need anesthesia. I'm going to get Charlie with my shoulder like this if I have to. You gunna help me or not?"

Steve took charge, having Lou and Kono hold Danny in place by grabbing him around the chest and waist from the left side and having Chin go to Danny's right side so he could pull the injured arm while Steve manipulated it into place. The three other team members had been quiet during the brief, heated exchange between the partners. All three knew the pair was as close as brothers but sometimes even brothers had a falling out that couldn't be repaired. They each hoped that wasn't happening here.

"I've never actually even seen this done before," Steve admitted, "but I've been taught."

"Shut up and just do it!"

On the count of three, Lou and Kono held Danny in place while Chin rather tentatively pulled on Danny's arm, eliciting a pained groan that Danny tried to stifle. "Stop!" Steve instructed. Danny was breathing hard and there were tears in his eyes. Steve tried not to look at him, guilt eating him up. "Chin, you have to pull harder than that." He covered his mouth with the back of his hand, trying to hide his own emotions.

"Harder?" Chin felt nauseous, not sure if he could pull harder knowing how much pain he was inflicting on his friend. He was sure Danny would pass out.

"Please?" that same friend begged, his head leaning back against the car, his eyes closed against the agonizing pain he had been feeling since the moment his shoulder was knocked out of it's socket.

Chin nodded and as they began again he placed his foot against Danny's side and pulled as hard as he could, actually feeling when Danny's shoulder gave under the strain. "Keep pulling," Steve shouted as Danny couldn't hold it back any longer and cried out in pain. Danny opened his eyes just as Steve looked up, their eyes catching, holding. Finally, mercifully, Steve managed to get his best friend's shoulder to slip back into place all the while wondering if they'd still be best friends after this.

Tears mixed with sweat on all five faces as they finished, the patient slumping ungracefully with pain and exhaustion. Steve had one hand placed protectively on Danny's chest, the other helping him to stay seated upright. "Just breathe buddy. Stay with me. You can't pass out. You have a son to see. Danno? Come on! Look at me Danno!"

tbc


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I don't own the characters or anything. This is just to get this story out of my head.

A/N: Thanks for all the wonderful reviews, favorites and alerts. It's humbling. I'm so pleased that you are enjoying this story. I hope that my characters come across as authentic.

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The team chimed in as well.

"Come on brah. Stay with us," Chin said.

"You got this, Jersey!" Lou encouraged.

"Let us see those baby blues!" Kono added.

Danny pried open his eyes and smiled weakly at Kono, a huge smile lighting up her face in return. She loved all of these guys but Danny just had this way of making her smile.

"That's it partner," Steve choked out, voice thick with emotion, drawing Danny's eyes to his.

Steve held Danny's gaze for a moment longer before Danny reached up with his left arm and wiped his face - blood, sweat and tears now covering his hand.

Chin looked a little green from what he had just done so Steve looked at Kono, who looked eager to help. "There's a first aid kit in the trunk. Would you mind getting it? I need to clean this blood off," he said, pointing to Danny's head, "and take care of that wound." She nodded and headed there. "He always has a clean shirt in there, too," he called after her, eyeing the blood on his partner's shirt.

"Trunk won't open," she said after trying. "I have a first aid kit in my car. Be right back."

"I have a clean shirt in my trunk," Lou offered.

Chin stepped in then with a small smile. "I have one that I'm sure will fit better."

Steve and Danny both smiled a bit at that exchange, again catching each other's eyes before looking away.

Kono brought the first aid kit and a bottle of water over and Chin laid the clean shirt on the hood of the Suburban before they joined Lou in beginning to process the accident scene. Even though Danny didn't want an ambulance there was still police work to do and two cars to clear off the road.

Finally moving his hand from his partner's chest, Steve began to carefully clean the cut. Danny hissed in pain but otherwise kept quiet. "This really should be stitched up," Steve began before Danny started to protest, "but I'll do the best I can." He took some sterile gauze and pressed it firmly against the cut, trying to get the bleeding to stop.

With the rest of the team occupied elsewhere, Steve took advantage of the moment of privacy. Steve's left hand was still holding the gauze while his right hand was positioned at the crux of Danny's neck and shoulder. He tried to look him in the eye but Danny was just gazing at the pavement. "Danny, I'm so sorry, man. I screwed up. I really just wanted to take a look. I should have known something would happen. I should have listened to you and just called it a day. Coming here was just asking for trouble. It wasn't – prudent. I'm so sorry Danno." Using the word Danny had taught him earlier - he truly regretted the decisions he made today.

Danny was quiet and unmoving and that unnerved Steve to no end. Danny was rarely quiet, rarely still. But, he noticed with hope that his partner had not objected to him using the nickname Danno. But Steve was anxious, and being honest with himself, he was afraid. Danny was the best friend he had ever had – no contest. He had been there at Steve's door every evening, beer in hand, after Catherine walked out on him. On the days Danny had Grace she would come with him and there'd be no beer. On the days Danny was in the hospital for the bone marrow transplant, he had called. Nothing was said about Catherine unless Steve wanted to talk. Danny was just there for him. Steve knew that Danny gave up time with Melissa to do it and he was incredibly grateful. He knew the other team members cared but Danny's feelings were always expressed in tangible ways and it touched his heart immensely. Beyond that, Danny Williams was a man of integrity – and that was not a word Steve used lightly.

He had buddies in high school, mostly football teammates who liked the prestige of hanging out with the star quarterback, he had classmates from the Academy who he heard from occasionally, he cared for his SEAL teammates and called a few of them friend, but nobody stood up to him, nobody challenged him, nobody had his back, nobody cared for him like the man before him. The little man with the big heart had taught him how to feel, how to 'be human' and he knew his life would never be the same without him in it.

For his part, Danny had a zillion thoughts running through his head, battling with the pain for his attention. Steve had been the best friend he had ever had. He had close friends, a lot of them actually. Danny just had the kind of personality that annoyed the hell out of some people, but drew others in close. He was honest and loyal and brave – a true boy scout without the camping and badges. But Steve was different from those other friends, very different Danny thought with an inner laugh.

He felt a bond with Steve that he had never felt with anyone before, not even Billy Selway. When he first came to this island, Danny was miserable. Yes, he had a good man as a partner, Meka, and he saw his beloved Grace every other weekend and that was worth everything, but back then when he wasn't with his daughter he worked, ate take out and slept in his dump of an apartment. He had so much more than that now. This place now felt like home. He owed that to Steve and the team.

His feelings for Steve matched those for his brother. He had lost Billy. He had lost Matt. If he let his anger continue he would lose Steve as well. He didn't want to lose that friendship, that special bond, and he didn't want Grace to lose her Uncle Steve. Then his thoughts went to Charlie. He wanted his son to grow up knowing this amazing man that he would call "uncle" like Grace did. Forgiveness – the hardest thing to give away. He opened his eyes and accepted Steve back into his heart in a way only Danny Williams could. "You are one seriously sick trouble magnet, you know that? From the bottom of my heart I hate you so much." Then he smiled.

Steve let out the breath he was holding and smiled broadly. "Love you too, Danno."

Steve then replaced the bloody gauze with a clean one. The wound was still oozing but not bleeding copiously as before. "This is not going to work well. It really does need stitches." He placed a calming hand on his partner's chest to avert an objection. "You'll end up with a bigger scar by waiting but you won't bleed to death." He taped the clean gauze into place.

"Help me up, huh? I gotta get going," Danny asked, his mind back on his son. He reached his left hand out and Steve hauled him to his feet, his right arm bent at the elbow and held firmly across his abdomen. He felt pain in his right leg and felt the whole world shift beneath his feet, his partner's firm grip the only thing keeping him from landing back on his butt.

"Woah, woah, easy, easy," Steve soothed, holding him up until Danny stopped wobbling, balancing most of his weight on his left leg.

"Your hip? Your knee?" Steve asked with concern. He knew his partner still had discomfort in his right hip from time to time, courtesy of the building collapse a year and a half ago (the bone marrow transplant exacerbating the problem), and his knee – Danny had recurring problems with his right knee since high school when a cheap and high slide at second took the shortstop out.

"It's ok, I'm fine, babe" Danny said as he tested his right leg again. "Just sore."

"Hey brah, thought you might want these," Chin called out as he and the others came over. "Your kids are really cute, but the postcard from New Jersey is a bit much." He attempted to hand them to Danny but Kono reached in and grabbed the photo of Grace and Charlie first.

"Is that Charlie? Oh my goodness, he's adorable." She looked up at Danny now. "He doesn't have your baby blues, but otherwise he looks just like you."

"First you say he's adorable and then you say he looks just like Williams? Girl, there's something wrong with you," Lou joked as he took the photo from her hand and took a look himself. "Great looking kid, Jersey. Looks nothing like you." He slapped Danny on his good shoulder and handed the photo back to the beaming father. The kid was definitely adorable and actually did look quite a bit like his father, but he couldn't let that go to Danny's head.

Slipping the photo and postcard of New Jersey in his back pocket, Danny started walking slowly. His leg ached from top to bottom and his hip was stiff but it wasn't anything he couldn't deal with, trying to walk it off a bit as he un-tucked and unbuttoned his shirt. Pulling it off was a bit difficult since he couldn't move his right arm much but he managed and he then headed back to get the clean shirt from the hood of the Suburban where Chin had left it.

Colorful bruises were already forming down his muscular right arm and side. It was impossible for his teammates not to notice. Kono usually didn't mind getting a look at Danny with his shirt off but this was painful to look at. That looked like it really hurt.

Due to the limited mobility of his right arm and the inability to raise it very high at all, putting Chin's light blue Henley on proved much more difficult than taking off the oxford shirt. Danny made a valiant effort, but putting both arms in, reaching up and pulling it down was impossible. Giving up for the moment and leaning against Lou's truck, Danny reached over and gripped his right shoulder trying to ease the pain before trying a different approach.

Grabbing the shirt from Danny's hand, Steve opened the right sleeve up and held it beneath Danny's right arm. "Can't even dress yourself," he joked when Danny placed his hand in the sleeve before Steve pulled it up very gently.

With a little care and patience and at least an equal amount of pain, the shirt was on. It was a change from Danny's usual dress shirts but the light blue matched his eyes and went well with his dark blue pants. It fit snug around his broad shoulders and chest and truth be told, despite the bruising showing where the short sleeves stopped, it looked really good on him. "Lookin' good BooBoo," Steve told him.

The team couldn't help but notice the change in atmosphere between the partners from when they had left a short while ago, but Danny hadn't said a word and that was highly unusual. "You guys good?" Chin asked.

Steve looked at Danny, a whole conversation going on without a word being spoken or a movement made, the teammates still dumbfounded at how they did that. "Yeah, we're good," Steve answered for them both.

"Ok, Princess, where are the keys to my car?" Danny asked as he stepped closer to the Camaro before getting a good look at the crumpled side and realizing it wasn't going anywhere. "Shit!"

"Here," Lou said as he handed Danny his keys. "Take mine. I'll get a lift with one of them."

"You sure?" Danny asked.

"Of course. No problem. Go on. Get going."

"Thanks man," Danny said as he exchanged a quick one-armed man hug with Lou before thanking Chin the same way.

He then turned to Kono. "C'mere you," he said with a smile, left arm open wide. "Thank you." He planted a kiss on her cheek.

Kono returned the smile with a huge one of her own as she carefully hugged him and kissed his cheek as well. "Have a great time with Charlie, Danny. Can't wait to meet him."

Steve was the one who answered. "You're gunna love him." He had spent some time with Danny, Grace and Charlie on two occasions and Charlie was just as warm and loving and intelligent as Grace and much more talkative. He was Danny's son alright.

Danny's right leg was really achy and his right arm was rather useless right now. It wasn't too bad when he kept it still, but movement brought pain. Then there was the mild headache, the swelling around his right eye and the fact that he had blacked out briefly after impact. He quickly realized that he shouldn't be driving, especially with the precious cargo he would be picking up.

He turned to Steve and another quick and silent conversation ensued. Neither man had to say a word out loud.

'Will you take me? I'm not up to driving.'

'You really trust me to drive – especially with Charlie in the car?'

'Always. You're my best friend and an uncle to my kids and I trust that you would never intentionally hurt any of us.'

'How you feeling?'

'Hurt all over, especially my right side. You ready to go?'

'Yeah, Danno.'

Both men turned to the Suburban and the keys moved from Danny's hand to Steve's in one fluid motion.

"They just did it again," Chin said.

"How do they do that?" Kono asked.

"They're both a little of the same kind of crazy, that's all," Lou opined.

tbc


	5. Chapter 5

AN: I don't own the characters or anything. This is just to get this story out of my head.

A/N: Through most of this chapter the boys just wrote themselves, except for one part that it took me a while to be happy with. Big thanks to Wenwalke for her input.

A/N: Several tips of the hat to Scott Caan in this chapter. Can you spot any?

A/N: So, we've seen pleading Danny, hurt Danny, livid Danny and forgiving Danny. Now we get to see tough-guy Danny. Hope you enjoy.

H50 H50 H50

As Danny limped to the passenger side and struggled to haul himself up into the Suburban, Steve turned to the team and spoke, because real words were needed with them. "Thanks for taking care of this mess," he said to them. "Lou, I'll get this back to you in one piece. I promise. Thanks." He flipped the keys to his truck to Lou so he could pick it up from the Palace.

In Lou's truck on the way to Rachel's Danny held his right shoulder with his left hand and leaned his head back on the headrest with a soft groan.

"That shoulder's really bothering you, huh?" Steve asked.

"Better now that it's back in place," was Danny's vague reply.

"Probably more than just dislocated. Torn muscles, maybe a fracture somewhere."

"Yeah, probably," Danny agreed.

Damn! For Danny to admit that meant it really did hurt. "I'm really sorry Danno…"

"We've been through that already. So just stop," Danny grumbled back, eyes still closed, head still back.

"Look, I know you're doing this for Charlie, so he doesn't think you don't love him. I get that. I really do. But are you honestly, physically up to this?"

"I grew up in a city that makes every list of worst places to live. It was rough, man. Violence, drugs, you name it. The cops," Danny sighed, "the cops were just always outnumbered. Amazing men and women, honestly. Did a lot of good for the city, still do," he added with pride, "but growing up there, you still had to protect your own, ya know?" He opened his eyes, lifted his head and looked at Steve to make sure he understood.

Steve had no idea where Danny was going with this, how it could possibly be an answer to his question. Maybe Danny was simply deflecting, maybe delirious, he didn't know. He knew Danny came from a rough area. He distinctly remembered a comment Danny made very early in the partnership that when you got in a fight in his neighborhood you went home and double locked your doors because somebody was coming back with a gun. Suddenly, the tiny, dingy apartment that Danny lived in when they first met made sense to him. It was what he was used to. Despite the poor and rough conditions he had grown up in though, Danny had a big and loving family around him. All of that had formed him into the man he had become, the man who had become Steve's best friend. He nodded his understanding.

Danny went on. "There was this guy one time, bigger than you, kept hassling Stella…"

"Eric's mother?"

"Yeah."

"Were you a cop yet?"

"Not yet."

Steve thought about that. He had an idea where this was going. How big could Danny have been then considering his adult height?

"Guy was a real schmuck," Danny continued. "I warned him to back off. Leave her alone. He started making comments about my size, asking who was going to make him stop. It got ugly."

Steve knew that was a euphemism for "we got into a knock down drag out fight".

"He kicked me in the chest. Sent me flying into a low retaining wall. I crumbled to the ground. My back hurt like a mother. Could barely feel my legs. A whole crowd was watching. All the guys from the neighborhood. So, I'm on the ground now, wind knocked out of me, pain I've never felt before in my back. The guys are shouting at me to stay down. They think he's gunna kill me if I dare get up, ya know. He's this big guy and I'm this runt."

"But you didn't stay down."

Danny sniffed. It was part of his tough guy routine that Steve recognized now. "Of course not."

"And…?"

"And the guy never bothered Stella again." There was no bravado in it, just a simple statement of fact. He didn't even open his eyes.

That's my partner, Steve thought. That's the man who has my back – every day. My Danno. But Danny hadn't told him everything. "And your back?"

"Piece of a bone chipped off my lower spine."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. Stuff like that happened, man. That's just the way it was. Guys would always shout 'just stay down', but I never, ever finished a fight on the ground. So to answer your question, yeah, honestly, physically I'm up to this."

Steve knew Danny was tough and strong; he fit the New Jersey stereotype that way for sure. Danny's height often made people underestimate him, but one look at him in a swimsuit told you everything you needed to know. He was 5 feet 5 inches of pure muscle. And agile – watch him make a leaping catch of a football while running full speed, field a bad hop grounder at short and then turn the double play or take a ride on a skateboard. Despite his abhorrence of the ocean, he had taken to surfing pretty quickly. And Steve had seen Danny fight. He wasn't highly trained in hand-to-hand combat like the rest of the team but he was a scrappy, tenacious, dangerous fighter who could inflict serious damage. He knew how to use his size to his advantage, moving in very close in a wrestling style when a boxing style would put him and his short reach at a clear disadvantage. And the way Danny had told that childhood story was not a proud and cocky boast; it was totally matter-of-fact. While he had never thought about it before, Steve could easily imagine Danny being the neighborhood protector growing up.

"Ok," Steve agreed. He'd take his word for it. "You have nicknames too? Like they show in movies and stuff," he added to lighten things up a bit.

"You mean a street name."

Steve sat up straighter in his seat. This could really get interesting.

Danny realized quickly that his answer had left him wide open. A flat out denial would have been better, although it would have been a lie and he wasn't very good at lying, especially to Steve. He couldn't hide much from him.

"So what was yours?" Steve asked.

"Not going there. Just not going there."

Steve wasn't going to let this go. "Shortstop?"

"Oh shut up! Shortstop? Seriously? The only time anybody dared call me shortstop was when they were reading the lineup."

Steve realized that being the protector would have been extra tough for a guy of Danny's size. Allowing anybody to refer to his size would destroy his credibility. He thought of the story his friend had just told. How many fights did his best friend have, how many injuries did he suffer, until people stopped mentioning it? He went back to trying to figure out Danny's street name. "Well, couldn't be Jersey because that would fit everybody."

"Genius."

"Couldn't be Danno…"

Danny glared at him before he could even finish that thought.

"Well, help me out here. It could be anything. Where do I even start?"

"Don't start. Just let it go." Danny didn't need to give him another nickname to use against him.

"I got it! 'D!' Eric calls you Uncle D."

"Nope. Some guys from Newark PD call me D. Eric just thinks he's one of them," Danny replied with a chuckle.

Steve thought some more. "Couldn't be Sponge-Bob because you would never live anywhere near a pineapple much less in one."

"Now that was just pathetic."

"Come on, just tell me. I'm your best friend. You can trust me."

Danny turned to look at Steve but the sharp pain that radiated through his shoulder made him quickly regret it and he stopped. "It means that much to you that you play the best friend and trust card?"

Steve looked at him in eager anticipation, not having to verbally answer that.

Danny realized that the name was nothing to be embarrassed about. It was a respectable one as street names go. "Ok, if it means that much to you. It's Sonny."

"Sunny?" Steve said with a smirk.

"Yeah, Sonny."

"Like you were some ray of sunshine? I don't see it."

Danny knew that he should be offended by that but he didn't have the energy to care. He understood what Steve was missing here. "Not Sunny with a 'u'. It's Sonny with an 'o'."

"Oh."

"Yeah, 'o'."

"Why Sonny? I still don't get it."

"Well sometimes it was Sonny C."

"That supposed to mean something to me?"

"Ever watch The Godfather?"

"Oh yeah, great movie!" Then it clicked. "Sonny Corleone!"

"Yep." Danny agreed in a matter of fact tone. "Apparently I reminded some guys of him."

"Because you look like James Caan or because you were totally bad-ass?"

Danny just looked at him.

Steve went on. "Because if they thought you looked like James Caan, they could have called you Brian Piccolo. Then I could have been Gale Sayers."

Danny laughed. "You don't look much like Gale Sayers."

Steve laughed too. "But we have some things in common. We're both awesome football players and we're both best friends with Brian Piccolo." Steve tried out his best Gale Sayers voice. "'I love Brian Piccolo and tonight when you hit your knees I ask you to ask God to love him too.'" He quoted that famous line from the movie Brian's Song.

"Watch that movie a couple of times, Steven?" Danny asked, grinning.

"Of course. The girls loved it. They'd get all weepy and lean on my shoulder crying. They were all in love with Brian Piccolo. But seriously, Sonny is a much better fit and much cooler street name than Brian. Gave you big time street cred, I'm sure. My totally bad-ass partner Sonny. I like it. It fits."

"Don't! Just don't!" Danny warned. He didn't want Steve to start using his New Jersey street name here.

"I like 'Danno', a lot better though," Steve said with a smile, making Danny relax. Danno was the best friend he ever had. Sonny was just a little bit scary.

tbc


	6. Chapter 6

AN: I don't own the characters or anything. This is just to get this story out of my head.

A/N: Wow! Thank you so much for all of the great reviews. I'm trying to reply to each one personally but I figured a general thank you was also needed, especially for the guest reviews. I truly appreciate the specific comments about what you like. I really enjoyed writing that last chapter and it motivates me to write more when I see that readers enjoy it also.

A/N: Scott Caan references in chap 5: bone chip in lower spine, football, shortstop, skateboard, surfing, wrestling (Jujitsu), James Caan.

A/N: It's my opinion that H50 creators wrote the storyline of Rachel's pregnancy so that if the show was still on when Grace moved out of childhood into teen years they could suddenly make the kid Danny's and bring another child in for Scott Caan to interact with and melt all of the viewers' hearts. So, here we get our first glimpse of Daddy Danny! I'm sorry it's short but you were all so good about reviewing that I wanted to post something.

H50 H50 H50

Danny pulled out his phone and called Grace who was already at her friend's house. He didn't take up too much of her time but he made a point of speaking with her every day and telling her how much he loved her. With all that was going on with Charlie these days he felt it especially important. The last thing he would want is for Grace to feel cheated or left out. She was his world.

When the call was finished, the ride continued in silence, Danny resting with his eyes closed and holding his arm, looking like he might be asleep. They were almost at Rachel and Stan's house so Steve gave Danny the heads up. "Almost there. What do you think Rachel will do when she sees you like that?" he asked with empathy.

"Won't happen." Danny assured him. "She never comes out when I pick them up and I don't go in unless there's something we need to discuss. The maid usually brings them out. Sometimes Stan."

"Stan?" That surprised Steve.

"Yeah, he says he appreciates that I'm letting him keep his place in Charlie's life. He's dad and I'm Danno. Probably be years before Charlie really understands what we each are to him. Grace still struggles with it."

"He and Rachel doing ok?"

"Looks like it. They both still live in the house. Go to visit Charlie together. I'm not going to ask him and I don't speak to her unless it's something pertaining to the kids. Don't imagine I'll ever have a real conversation with her again."

"I feel for you buddy. You finally over her?"

"I can honestly say yes I am. Totally done with her. What she did to me…" Danny just shook his head.

Steve knew that Danny was the only one on both sides of his family to get divorced and that it really bothered him. To Danny and his family, marriage was a sacred vow, not to be entered into or out of lightly. To 'fail' at something so important still tore Danny apart and probably always would. "If you ask me, she gives love a bad name."

Danny gave a soft chuckle. "Now you're using Bon Jovi against me? Not nice, man. So not nice."

They pulled into the long driveway and they both got out, Danny slower than Steve.

They heard him before seeing him. "Danno!" Then a blond tornado came thundering down the driveway straight at Danny. Steve tensed in anticipation of the contact, but Danny pushed the pain aside, bent his left knee nearly to the pavement and scooped the happy little guy into his left arm and straightened up again in an amazingly fluid motion.

My partner 'Sonny', Steve thought with pride, can't keep him down. Then that 'tough-as-nails' partner turned immediately into 'Danno'. "Hey Tiger," he said with a huge smile and mushy tone of voice that had previously been reserved only for Grace. "How ya doing?" Danny relished in the huge hug that his newfound son was giving him, drawing strength from it.

Steve was thrilled for Danny but also amazed. He barely knew this kid not long ago. How had he so completely won the boy's heart in such a short time? Thinking on it, though, it didn't surprise him. He had seen Danny with Grace. The love between them so complete and so pure that he found himself envious, wishing he had been able to have such a relationship with his father. He settled for friendship with Danny instead, as it filled a hole in his heart that nothing else ever had.

"Grace isn't here," the boy said from his perch on Danny's left hip. "Is that okay?"

"Is that okay? Of course it's okay Tiger! You are my whole life. I love you more than anything."

Charlie beamed and then he leaned back slightly and tenderly placed both hands on the side of his father's face. "You have a boo-boo. Does it hurt?"

"It won't if you kiss it better," Danny told him with a smile.

Charlie dutifully administered the healing kiss, and Danny sighed. "All better."

Steve, who had installed the car seat in the back after the maid handed it to him, now stepped up to the father and son pair, wishing that a son's kiss could really take a father's pain away. Not only would it heal the emotional and physical wounds of his partner, but then he could have eased his own father's pain so many years ago as well. Watching Danny interact with Grace had always been an eye opening experience and he now knew that watching Danny with his son would prove to be truly bittersweet.

Danny turned to Steve now. "Charlie, do you remember my friend…?"

"Uncle Steve!"

"That's right buddy," Steve answered with a smile, rather surprised that Charlie even remembered him since they had only met twice. He figured Grace had something to do with it. He reached his arms out "Would you come here and give me a hug?" Danny had been holding the 3 year old in his left arm for several minutes and he was sure that he was reaching his limit – had actually, probably already pushed himself past it.

Charlie reached his arms out and Steve took him in his arms for the first time. He wanted to just hold the kid forever. He reminded him so much of Danny – had his same blond locks, his same infectious smile, his same boundless energy. "Grace says you're Danno's friend."

"That's right Charlie. Your Danno, he's a good man. He's my best friend."

Charlie looked at Danny and beamed. "Are we going to the playground with the lake?" he then asked.

"That's what I promised," Danny told him. Danny always kept his promises.

"And we can feed the ducks and the jumping fish and swing on the swings and play on the slide?"

"Sure can Tiger."

"And then we're going to a special surprise?"

"As promised."

"Yay!"

The ride began with Charlie asking Danny if he could play 'that song.' Danny explained that this wasn't his car so he didn't have his music selection and therefore couldn't play it. They ended up singing it instead and Steve found himself joining in. Only Danny knew all the lyrics but all three would belt out the chorus to Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer". As he heard Danny sing the lyrics, Steve realized how much the song fit his friend "We've got to hold on to what we've got. It doesn't make a difference if we make it or not. We've got each other and that's a lot. For love we'll give it a shot."

When they finished singing, Charlie talked non-stop – about anything and everything and Danny was patient and attentive to every word, answering questions, filling in words that Charlie couldn't come up with, asking about pre-school and his friends… Steve had never seen anyone out-talk Danny, but Charlie looked like he was a contender. Nothing like Grace in that regard; she was much more quiet. At one point, the boy looked at Steve from his seat in the back. "Grace says you're a seal."

Danny shook his head and laughed as Steve smiled proudly. "Grace is right."

Charlie laughed at this – a full out belly laugh and then he spoke again. "Danno has a zoo."

"A zoo?" Steve asked confused but Danny was already shaking his head and chuckling because he understood.

"Yep," Charlie said. "He has a monkey, a seal and a tiger! That's Danno's zoo."

"You don't know the half of it," Danny mumbled.

A/N: I wanted to have Charlie wearing a US soccer jersey (#10) with the name Williams on the back as an acknowledgement of the young midfielder on the US Mens National Soccer Team named Danny Williams. It just didn't seem to work so I'll tip my hat to Danny Williams – the soccer player – right here. He's a German/American and plays for the English Club Reading. Anybody familiar with him?

tbc


	7. Chapter 7

AN: I don't own the characters or anything. This is just to get this story out of my head.

A/N Danny singing in the last chapter was another tip of the hat to Scott. He was offered a recording contract at one time and turned it down.

A/N This is a short chapter. Mostly fluff of the Daddy Danny variety. I'll try to get the next one up soon. I think it's better than this one.

H50 H50 H50

The promised trip to the lake required food to feed the ducks and fish - food, in the form of stale bread that was currently stuck in the trunk of the Camaro. So, a quick stop at a convenience store found Steve running in for a loaf of bread. As he reached the door he stopped short, lifted his head to the sky, turned around and came back, a sheepish grin across his face. Danny, who along with having above average deductive skills could read Steve like a book, knew right away what was going on. He spoke through the open window next to him. "You don't have your wallet." It was a statement, not a question.

Steve opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Danny sighed. His wallet, which he never forgot at home like his wayward partner, was in his right back pocket. Retrieving it with his nearly immobile right arm and painful right hip was going to be impossible. He banged the back of his head on the headrest. Steve, who was able to read Danny as well, simply said," Just lean a bit to the left."

Danny closed his eyes and gave a vexed shake of his head, but did his partner's bidding and allowed him to reach in the window and slip the wallet out of his pocket. "Be right back," Steve said with a smirk.

The walk around the lake with the loaf of bread, ducks trailing after them eager to be fed, fish jumping out of the water as the bread was tossed in, brought forth tons of giggles from the three year old and plenty of smiles from the two men.

At the gate to the playground, Charlie was tugging at Danny's hand. Steve had turned away and Danny wasn't sure why. Despite Danny's honest assurances that Steve was welcome to come with them, Steve declined, not wanting to intrude on this part of the father/son time. Knowing he was going to lose this battle, Danny told Steve that he should go and do something rather than sit here in the parking lot. When they were done, they'd call Steve for a ride. Steve said he had some phone calls to make and since he had Lou's car he didn't have hands free capability so he'd just sit here and make the calls, then he'd see about going somewhere after that.

For the next hour, Steve watched as Charlie ran and climbed and laughed, Danny always by his side, not so much hovering (although his worried nature made him an instinctive hoverer) as he was interacting. Although Steve could only hear anything when they came to his corner of the playground he could tell that the small boy had Danny's full attention. Charlie climbed monkey bars and they pretended they were mountains, he turned the big wheel and they pretended he was sailing a ship. For half an hour Charlie ran up the slide, turned himself around and slid right down again, over and over. Danny was right by his side, protective hand making sure the boy didn't fall, but allowing the boy to do things for himself. Occasionally, at what appeared to be Danny's subtle prompting, Charlie would look up from where they were playing and wave to Steve, making sure he didn't feel left out despite his choice to stand and watch.

They headed for the swings next and Steve watched with trepidation as Danny struggled to lift Charlie one-handed into one of the swing-set's safety seats. He stood ready to intervene but Danny somehow managed to accomplish the task himself and he settled back to watch as Danny pushed his son on the swing using only his left arm, weight perched mostly on his left leg. As before, there was constant chatter between the two although Steve couldn't hear what was being said. Steve could hear Charlie's unbridled laughter though and he marveled, yet again, at the incredible father that was his partner. Just as Steve was beginning to feel a bit like a pedophile watching the playground, Charlie looked over to him and shouted loudly, "Look Uncle Steve, I'm flying!"

After two hours on the playground, half of which was spent pushing his son on the swing, Danny gave his son a 'five minute warning'. Five minutes later, Steve understood when Danny told Charlie it was time to go. Charlie began to whine that he wanted to stay and turned to run back to the slide but Danny spoke to him firmly but without anger. "I gave you the 'five minute warning' Tiger and you know what that means."

Charlie stopped in his tracks, and then turned around slowly. "Okay Danno," he said as he reached for his father's hand and they walked towards Steve.

Knowing that Danny had to be hurting, Steve beckoned the boy to himself. "Hey Charlie, will you come give me a hug?" Charlie released Danny's hand and ran straight into Steve's outstretched arms where he was lifted up and twirled around much to his delight. As Steve carried his partner's son through the parking lot to the car, Danny looked heavenward and gave thanks for these two priceless gifts in front of him – a friend and a son.

After Steve buckled Charlie into the car seat and closed the door, Danny filled him in on the surprise part of the day before they entered the truck.

"You like going to the playground Charlie?" Steve asked from the front seat, although from watching the past two hours he knew the answer.

Charlie nodded his head. "I like going with Danno the best. Mommy and Daddy take me to the little kid playground and just sit on the bench and watch. Danno takes me to the big boy playground and plays with me the whole time."

Steve glanced at his partner and saw him swallow the lump in his throat. There were many ways to parent a child and if Steve was ever blessed with one he knew which father he would emulate. He knew that although his partner was a very confident man professionally, Danny always doubted himself as a father, but he wasn't sure why. Steve would vote him 'father of the year' in a heartbeat.

tbc


	8. Chapter 8

AN: I don't own the characters or anything. This is just to get this story out of my head.

A/N Just saw the tsunami episode that begins with Kono teaching Danny how to surf. I was so jealous of Kono and even more of Grace Park because I'm sure they did more than one take of that scene. Seriously, her hands on Danny/Scott's hips like that! Oh my! And those shorts he was wearing, low on his hips! The powers that be knew what they were doing. Anyone agree that that surfing scene was seriously hot?.

A/N Another tip of the hat to Scott in this chapter. (Hope you're not getting tired of them). Anybody know what it is? A shout out to whomever gets it right.

Having worn themselves out at the playground, father and son both dozed off in the car. Danny had told Steve the surprise destination so he headed there enveloped in a peaceful quiet. Danny roused himself as they neared, somehow aware of their progress despite the closed eyes. "Hey Tiger," he said, managing to turn slightly in his seat to look at the dozing boy. "Ready for the surprise?"

Stretching and wiping the sleep from his eyes, Charlie perked up. "What is it Danno?"

"If I told you then it wouldn't be a surprise."

Charlie peered out the window, legs bouncing in the seat. Steve turned into the parking lot and Charlie finally figured out where they were going. "The firehouse!"

The big doors were open and the trucks were shining and gleaming. A few firemen sat out front in the beautiful evening sun. One stood and approached, a big smile on his face until he got a closer look. Danny had a black eye with a bandage next to it tinged with blood. Through his snug fitting blue shirt it was obvious that his right shoulder was swollen and he held the arm stiffly at his side. There was a limp to his walk. "Danny, you okay?"

Danny shook the man's hand, bending his right arm at the elbow but not much else. "Of course I'm okay. I got my boy with me." He squeezed the boy's right hand with his left.

"How's your Dad?"

"Pops is good, really good. He and Mom are happy again," Danny told him with a big smile. "Thanks for asking."

"That's quite the shiner you got there," Chester said. "What's the other guy look like?"

"The other guy was a car," Danny said simply, before adding, "Chester, this is my friend Steve and my son Charlie." He turned now, making proper introductions. "Steve, this is Lieutenant Chester Jones. He and Pop became friends while he was here."

After the men shook hands, Chester looked at the boy as they began to walk inside. "Nice to meet you Charlie. Your daddy here says you like fire and rescue trucks."

Charlie looked up, confused. "He's not Daddy."

Steve jumped in quickly to the rescue. "He means Danno, Charlie."

The 'dad' confusion and the fact that several other firefighters were now joining the group seemed to overwhelm the small boy. He turned in to Danny's thigh and looked up, begging silently to be lifted. Sure that there was no way he could even get him off the ground now, Danny had another idea. "Where's Sparky?" he asked Chester.

The dog, who had been lying serenely in the corner, perked up at the mention of his name and came over, nails clacking on the floor. Danny made to go down on one knee next to the boy but Steve stopped him with a hand as one of the men pulled over a folding chair. "Before you keel over," he said.

Danny gratefully sat as Charlie pressed up next to him. Danny spoke soft, gentle, encouraging words and soon Charlie was laughing and hugging the firehouse dog. He started talking again, a sure sign that he was no longer nervous.

"You see the way he's wagging his tail, Tiger? That means he likes you."

"Really? His nose is wet Danno. It tickles."

"You want to see the trucks now?" Danny knew that the alarm could sound any minute and the trucks and firefighters would have to leave.

Charlie nodded his head enthusiastically and tugged on Danny's left arm to pull him out of the chair. He reached up his other hand to Steve. "Wanna see the firetrucks, Uncle Steve? Danno knows all about them. His daddy is a firefighter. He's my Grandpa. I have three Grandpas. Most kids only have two but Danno says I'm special."

Steve smiled, amazed at how Danny could be so pessimistic and grumpy about his life yet always put a positive twist on things for his kids. He was also impressed more than ever how Danny could so willingly allow Stan and his family to remain in Charlie's life as they had been before. It was the best thing for Charlie and that was what mattered most. "That's right Charlie. You are special – just like your Danno."

Danny and Chester led the way around each truck, taking turns explaining what different parts and instruments did. Danny had grown up around fire trucks and was pretty informed. Steve knew that he was physically pushing himself to keep going so he'd quietly step in and do the lifting as Charlie climbed on and off, in and out of the various trucks. Charlie was asking questions, mostly, "What's that Danno?" and making observations the whole way. Steve handled most of the physical part while Danny verbally interacted with his boy as he held himself painfully erect, often using the trucks for support. Danny would sometimes go more in depth with an explanation when he sensed Steve's interest. Steve was fascinated as well as Charlie and learned a few things about firefighting that he had never known before, amused but not surprised that Danny had picked up so much as he grew up.

As they finished looking at each of the trucks, Charlie spotted the shiny fire pole and asked his usual question. "What's that Danno?"

Danny answered with his usual patience and ability to explain things in a way the boy would understand. "That's a fire pole. There are beds and showers upstairs. If the alarm goes off when the firefighters are up there they use the pole to come down. You know how mom and dad tell you don't run on the stairs?" Charlie nodded yes and Danny went on. "Well, that's because it's not safe. It's not safe for the firefighters either so they use the pole instead."

"Cool! Can I try it? Will you take me, please? Please Danno? Please! Please! Please!"

Danny remembered the thrill of sliding down that pole as a kid. When he was very small, his Dad would grab onto the pole first and take him between his arms and guide him down so he couldn't possibly fall. He wanted his son to have that same joy. But, there was simply no way he would be able to grab onto that pole and slide down himself, much less guiding his boy down as well.

Steve instantly understood his friend's dilemma and came up with a quick solution. "I've never been down a fire pole before either Charlie. How about we go together?" The look of gratitude in Danny's eyes caught Steve up short for just a heartbeat before Danny spoke.

"That's a great idea," Danny said.

"Come on, I'll show you," Chester said. But first he turned to one of the men who had been lingering nearby the whole time they were there. "Danny, this is Johnny, one of our paramedics. We'll be upstairs a little while as I show them around so he'll keep you company." His message was simple – you look like a mess and he's going to check you out.

"Take good care of him Johnny," Steve said, as they walked by.

Charlie reached up and grabbed Steve's hand. The feel of the small hand in his felt so good to Steve, so natural. He didn't want to ever let go. He wondered about that. Had his father felt this way when he held his hand? When was the last time they had held hands? Do you know when that last time is or does it just happen less and less until it doesn't happen anymore and you can't remember what the last time was? Thinking about his father again, he considered how his father had sent he and Mary away to protect them. He no longer doubted that his father loved them, although before that fateful phone call he had doubted it many times. He was just never sure that sending them away was the right decision. He thought of Danny – who had left everyone he loved and gave up everything he had and lost everything he had ever worked for, just to be with Grace. He looked down at Charlie, the boy who Danny didn't even know was his son until a few short months ago but who now had a hold on his partner's heart that seemed to match the complete, selfless love he had for Grace. Danny had sacrificed a lot for Charlie already as well. Charlie looked up at him and smiled. Steve knew then, knew for sure, that his father had most definitely made the wrong decision. Love was the best thing you could give your child. There were no guarantees that you could give your child anything else, not food or clothing or even protection, all of those things depended on many other factors. But love was yours to give freely and nobody could change that.

Charlie's voice brought him out of his reverie. "Uncle Steve?"

They were at the top of the stairs now and he didn't even remember getting there. "Yeah Charlie?"

"Danno said the firefighters used the pole. Why are there stairs?"

Steve smiled. He could handle this one. He tried to put it into simple words the way his partner would for the little boy. "Most of the time they use the stairs. It's kind of hard to climb UP the pole, right?"

Charlie nodded his head.

"And look at all of the things they have up here – beds and lockers and clothes…"

"You can't carry them up and down the pole," Charlie laughed, understanding now. He tugged on Steve's hand. He wanted to check out the whole room upstairs.

Meanwhile, downstairs, "You're bleeding," Johnny said, pointing to Danny's eye as he led him over to the paramedic truck. Danny sunk gratefully onto the bumper as Johnny pulled out a box of supplies. "And can you even lift that arm at all?" he asked, pointing to Danny's right.

"A little," Danny answered. A very little, he answered more honestly to himself.

Johnny removed the bloodied gauze and checked the wound. "Looks clean but you need stitches if you want this to heal right," he said as he put a clean bandage in place.

"Not going to make my boy sit in the Emergency Room," Danny explained.

Then the paramedic looked at the bruising down Danny's arm and ran his trained hands along Danny's shoulder. "You have quite a bit of swelling here. I can give you some Ibuprofen but you have to get it checked by a doctor, too. "

"It doesn't really hurt," Danny told him. "Just a heavy ache." Okay, he was downplaying things quite a bit.

"Seriously, you're playing the tough guy now, but you'll have serious long-term problems if you don't take proper care of this shoulder."

"Not my first rodeo," Danny assured him. "When I drop him off with his mother, then I'll go."

"Hey Danno!" Steve called, peering down from the whole in the floor, looking as excited as a little kid.

"Thanks Johnny," Danny said to the paramedic before getting up and going to the pole.

He watched as Steve wrapped a strong arm and his legs around the pole, before looking up to grab a firm but gentle hold on Charlie. With the boy enveloped securely between his body and the pole, Steve said, "You ready Charlie?"

"Ready Uncle Steve. Look Danno!"

Danny wasn't sure which one was smiling the broadest as they reached the floor and turned to him.

"Did you see that Danno? Did you see that? I did that just like the fire fighters."

Danny reached for him and the boy stepped easily into his single armed hug. "Of course I saw that. Your Pops would be so proud of you."

"Really?"

"Really! Now if we want to eat before you go home, we better get moving."

They said their thank you's and good byes and headed out to the Suburban under darkening evening skies.

"What do you want to eat, Tiger?"

"Pizza!"

"What kind do you like, Charlie?" Steve asked.

"Not pineapple," Charlie said with a face.

Steve looked at Danny, who had a pleasantly surprised grin on his face, but spoke to Charlie. "Your Danno tell you to say that?"

"No. Pineapple on pizza is just yucky!" the three year old informed him in no uncertain terms.

Steve shook his head and laughed. "He really is yours," he said quietly to Danny. "It's the only explanation."

tbc


	9. Chapter 9

AN: I don't own the characters or anything. This is just to get this story out of my head.

A/N A major shout out to bswindle20! She got the tip of the hat to Scott in the last chapter - Danny's line "not my first rodeo." Nice job bswindle20. Our boy Scott is an accomplished rodeo rider on top of his plethora of other skills. I don't think the man ever sits still, unless you count sitting down to write his plays and movies. I'm thrilled that somebody got it.

A/N Another shout out to the guest reviewer who caught the Emergency reference with the Paramedic named Johnny. I'm happy somebody caught this one too.

A/N Yet another tip of the hat to our multi-talented Scott in this chapter. A shout out to whomever finds it.

"Danno loves you!" Danny shouted after Charlie as the maid walked him back into the house after they had shared their pizza dinner at the end of the evening together.

As the door closed behind his son, the sheer will that had propelled Danny through the afternoon and evening finally gave out. He stumbled as he turned, Steve's strong arms preventing him from hitting the pavement, barely. He was seriously crashing now. "Hey buddy, come on. Just push through a little bit longer," Steve told him. "I'm taking you to the ER now and that's final."

"No argument from me," Danny mumbled. The pain was thrumming through his body now. His right shoulder felt so swollen that he thought the skin was going to burst, his hip ached tremendously and he was sure there was an entire marching band playing inside his head. Steve's strong arm curled around his left side, supporting his weight. Even with Steve's help, he was hardly able to make it to Lou's truck and pull himself up into the high passenger seat.

When they were back in Lou's Suburban, Steve turned to Danny. Danny's energy level had spiraled downward after the firehouse. He hadn't eaten much and, while he had been as attentive to Charlie as ever while they ate, he didn't really speak much.

"You look like crap," Steve told him before putting the truck in gear and heading out onto the road.

"Thanks, Mr Cheerful. I feel worse than crap so I'll take that as a compliment." He paused – speaking took energy that he really didn't have. "Just drop me off at the ER, okay? Bring this truck back to Lou and get yours. I can have Melissa pick me up when I'm done. She was planning to come this evening anyway since Grace won't be there tonight and I told Eric to find a place to crash tonight."

"Not happening, partner. Not leaving you there alone. Besides, I spoke with Lou while you were at the playground. We'll just switch back tomorrow."

"There's no need for you to sit for hours in the ER, Steve. You know how interminably long those places take." He halted Steve before he could speak. "And I'm not calling in any favors from the governor on this one."

"That wouldn't be prudent?" Steve asked with a smirk.

Danny chuckled softly. "No, it wouldn't."

"I'm staying with you, brother," Steve stated emphatically.

He got no reply. Danny's head was leaning against the headrest, his eyes closed. His breathing seemed labored and he offered up an occasional moan. Steve was torn between speeding up and getting to the hospital faster or slowing down and decreasing the effects of the bumps and turns. Steve chose the former, calling himself a psycho Ninja since Danny wasn't doing it. He knew the name didn't have his partner's flare but he just couldn't reach Danny's level in that area.

When they pulled up outside the Emergency Room, Steve gently shook Danny's good shoulder. "Danny we're here." Then he popped the button to release Danny's seatbelt.

Danny moaned softly at being disturbed and rolled his head to look out the passenger window. That door looked so far away. "Couldn't you get any closer?"

"You want me to drive inside?" Steve responded with a gleam in his eye before he got out. Then he leaned back in and spoke again. "Stay here. I'll be right back."

"It's okay. I can make it. Don't want to go rolling in there on a gurney like some goof." He reached over with his left hand but couldn't reach the door handle. "Just open the freakin' door," he shouted as Steve ran around to his side of the truck.

"Whatever you say Sonny," Steve said with a grin as he did his partner's bidding.

"Don't call me Sonny," Danny mumbled back.

By the time Melissa joined them in the Emergency Room, Danny had undergone a preliminary exam and been given some mild painkillers. With Steve's help he had managed to remove Chin's shirt without damaging it and was propped up on the gurney in nothing but his boxers.

She stopped short at the sight of him. His right eye was black and puffy and there was a deep cut next to it, still oozing blood. His right shoulder was severely swollen and there was bruising all down his right arm, his side and his leg but he was alive and alert and that's what mattered. She gave Steve a quick hug and then turned to Danny. "Hey Jersey."

She gave him a soft kiss and then, pulling back and sitting on the edge of the gurney, she gently stroked the uninjured side of his face.

"What happened?" She asked Danny.

He kept his answer simple. "Car chase gone wrong. Guy we were chasing had no driving skills at all."

Steve was surprised, yet pleased, that Danny pointed the blame at the fleeing perp and not him. He caught Danny's eyes, thanking him silently.

Melissa then turned to Steve. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine Melissa. Got hit on the passenger side so unfortunately, Danny took the whole hit."

"You poor thing," she soothed, turning back to her man. "Looks like it really hurts."

"He's faking most of it," Steve teased.

"Faking these bruises? That blood?" Melissa asked. She knew Steve was just busting on him, but she felt the need to defend him.

"Yeah, Steven. With this plethora of bruises?" Danny added with a 'take that' smile.

"Reading the dictionary again, Danno?" Steve joked.

"Just naturally loquacious," was Danny's smiling reply.

"How was your time with Charlie?" Melissa asked as she sat on the edge of the bed next to him.

"Absolutely amazing. The kid is just incredible. I love him so much Melissa." As they waited for the doctor, Danny went on to tell her about their time together. He expressed his appreciation for how much help Steve was as well. If Melissa was jealous that Steve had spent that time with Danny rather than her, she didn't show it at all.

The doctor came in to inject a local anesthetic near Danny's injured eye. As usual, the needle was long and several injections had to be made to numb the whole area so the process inflicted a decent amount of pain on it's own, especially in an area as sensitive as the face. Unable to watch, Melissa looked at Steve as she held Danny's left hand. While that started to work the doctor would check the shoulder before stitching up the cut, Danny opting not to wait for a plastic surgeon. What was one more scar?

The shoulder exam was somewhat brutal as the doctor tested Danny's strength and range of motion and it left him drained, sweating slightly, a little shaky.

With no time to recover from that exam, the doctor set to work stitching up the cut by his eye. He then moved on to palpate Danny's abdomen and do strength and range of motion tests on Danny's leg.

By the time the doctor was done examining him, Danny felt and looked much worse than when he had come in and they sent him off for an x-ray and MRI. Being told it would be at least 45 minutes, Steve and Melissa took a walk to the cafeteria for coffee. While he appreciated that Danny had forgiven him and let him off the hook with the explanation to Melissa, Steve felt like he needed to come clean. He explained the whole thing to her as best he could, expressing his regret more than once. He told her how much Danny's friendship meant to him and how relieved he was that Danny had forgiven him. She assured him that Danny thought just as highly of him and said that if Danny was willing to forgive then so was she.

She shared with him how difficult it was to see Danny injured yet again. They had known each other for a couple years now, since Danny had saved her life on that highway, and she had seen him seriously injured three times before this. The first time, after being caught in the collapse of the bombed building he had broken a rib, been impaled by a piece of rebar, and had a hairline fracture of his pelvis requiring weeks of grueling physical therapy. The second time he nearly died from blood loss when her abusive ex found them and gave Danny a concussion before stabbing him in the stomach. The third time he had not even been cleared for active duty yet after the stabbing. He had been thrown in that Colombian prison and was severely beaten more than once. When he finally made it home, he had two bruised kidneys, a bruised liver, several severe lacerations to his face requiring multiple stitches, a few cracked ribs and a bruised spine. Then he was back riding a desk for a few more days after the bone marrow transplant that saved Charlie's life. The sprained ankle at the Tough Mudder race followed. He was so happy when he finally got back to active duty.

Steve was worried as she spoke of all these injuries. He knew that the major reason why Danny and Rachel's marriage didn't work out was because she couldn't handle the strain of worrying about the risk of injury or death. It took a very strong woman to be married to a cop, especially one on a high-risk task force like Five-O. As if she read his mind, Melissa assured him that she wasn't going anywhere. She knew that being a cop was who Danny was. She couldn't ask him to walk away from it anymore than she could ask him to stop breathing. He was a strong man and she would be strong as well. That didn't mean she wouldn't cry though and as she did, Steve held her, wiping away some tears of his own for his best friend who had suffered so much recently.

"He's going to be okay, Melissa. He's tough and he's a fighter." My badass partner Sonny, he thought with a silent chuckle. "Active duty will take a while, but he'll be back kicking my butt at chess in no time."

tbc


	10. Chapter 10

AN: I don't own the characters or anything. This is just to get this story out of my head.

A/N This is it my friends – the last chapter. I hope you have enjoyed the ride. Detailed reviews allow me to know what you like so I can write better in the future. I really enjoyed writing this chapter. I could picture Danny and Steve in my head and just wrote down what they were saying and doing. Hope you like it as well.

A/N A big shout out to avieryfriend and bexilol and others who caught the tip of the hat to Scott in the last chapter. It was Steve's comment about Danny beating him at chess. In an interview, Alex O'Loughlin said that he and Scott used to play chess during breaks but Scott won all the time so they don't play much anymore.

HJ50 H50 H50

When Danny was brought back to the cubicle, he was dozing lightly - exhausted and worn down by the day – so they let him be and sat in a companionable silence until the doctor came back, awakened Danny and explained his findings. He had suffered a slight concussion but it was nothing too serious. He'd have headaches, but they would go away eventually. The bruising on his arm, side and most of his leg was extensive and, while painful, was not serious. He had a large bone bruise on his hip that would be painful for a number of weeks. He would need to do physical therapy so that he did not lose strength or range of motion in that hip.

Tests showed that his shoulder had several problems. Not surprisingly the labrum was torn. The muscles holding the shoulder in place had experienced too much strain. When the shoulder popped out of place, or possibly when it was popped back in, the doctor couldn't say since the replacement hadn't been done at the hospital, there was a small chip that shaved off the shoulder bone. It was very small, not unusual in shoulder dislocations, and was unlikely to ever be a problem.

The biggest problem was that his clavicle was also fractured in the accident. The combined injuries were causing severe swelling and pain. Best course of action, the doctor said, was to immobilize the shoulder completely for a few days and then wear a sling for a month or more while undergoing physical therapy. His healing would take time as his own body did the work. The doctor then began to write a prescription for some painkillers.

"No need, Doc," Danny told him with a sigh.

At the doctor's query, Melissa explained. "He's had a rough few years, injury-wise, doctor so he's had pain meds prescribed for him before. He never took them more than a day or two, though."

"I have plenty at home." The words seemed to catch in his throat. Danny closed his eyes to compose himself. "Feels like I've spent the last two years on desk duty," he sighed quietly. He was completely and utterly exhausted and his day wasn't even over yet.

Steve knew Danny wasn't laying a guilt trip on him, but he felt horrible anyway. As Melissa had pointed out, the last two years had been grueling for Danny, physically and emotionally. He didn't need this. He could see that Danny's spirits were really sagging. The man was overwhelmed.

The doctor needed Danny to sit up on the edge of the gurney so he could wrap his shoulder. Moving into a seated position was excruciating and exhausting and Danny's vision grayed at the edges for a moment. As Danny tried to ignore the pain in his hip and the dizziness in his head to hold himself upright, the doctor manipulated Danny's right arm across his chest so his hand was near his left shoulder.

"Doctor, isn't there an easier way?" Melissa asked worriedly as she saw the pain Danny was in. He could barely sit up.

"I'm afraid not."

Steve decided that what Danny needed was a little pick-me-up, McGarrett style.

"So, Danno, what were you complaining about? Something about desk duty?" Steve taunted, trying to pull Danny's spirits up and give him some adrenaline as the doctor worked to wrap what seemed like miles of Ace bandages around Danny's chest to immobilize his shoulder.

"What am I complaining about?" Danny said, in his usual fashion of beginning a rant by repeating a question. "What am I…? I'll tell you what I'm complaining about. You heard the doctor. Four weeks! At least four weeks in a sling. At least four weeks of PT on my shoulder and my hip. My hip – again. That means more than four weeks of desk duty - sitting back at the Palace on the phones, playing with the computers while you guys go out and catch the bad guys."

"Sounds to me like I did you a favor," Steve pushed his buttons some more.

"Did me a favor?" Danny turned to Melissa who wasn't quite sure what to make of this. "Do you hear him?" In full rant mode now, he turned back to Steve before she had a chance to say anything. "Do you hear yourself?"

"How can I hear myself when you won't stop talking?" Steve smirked, arms crossed in front if his chest. It was just too easy to push Danny's buttons.

"Not funny, Steven. Okay, Superman, explain to me how you did me a favor." Danny's left hand was in motion while the doctor worked on his right.

"It's very simple, Danny."

"Enlighten me, babe."

"I'm keeping you from getting shot."

"You're keeping me from getting shot?" Danny tilted his head to the side at that.

"Yeah, you have a hip and shoulder injury from the car accident which will keep you off field duty for a month or more. That's a month or more that you won't be shot at by being in the field with me."

"He has a point there," the doctor threw in as he worked on Danny's shoulder. He shut up when Danny threw him a death glare. Why did the man have to interject himself into a perfectly good argument?

"So, let me get this straight. My car, my beautiful Camaro that you drive more than I do by the way, is probably totaled, which insurance never completely covers so I'm going to have to find money somewhere to buy a new one because, for some reason we always use my car not yours…"

"Yours is cooler..."

"That's true."

"and it's faster."

"Well, it's not faster anymore, because it's totaled!" Danny shouted the last word.

"Danny, calm down," Melissa said.

"This is Danny. That IS calm," Steve said, grin in place, arms across his chest, leaning back against the wall.

"That is so not funny," Danny said, thrusting his arm out at Steve.

"Mr Williams? Detective? You need to hold still," the doctor said.

"Yes Detective, do hold still," Steve said with another smirk.

"You want me to have him leave?" the doctor asked Danny of Steve.

Danny looked at him askance. "No! I'm not done!" He was in full rant mode, but he tried to keep his left arm in check as the doctor worked. "So, my car is totaled, I have a concussion and stitches in my face. I injured my hip – again – and my shoulder is totally screwed up and you did me a favor because I won't be shot at for the next month?!"

"Yes!" Steve answered with a grin on his face and a twinkle in his eye. He really loved when Danny got like this. The man deserved an Oscar or something. James Caan had nothing on this guy.

"You are such a Neanderthal!" Danny laughed.

"But you love me anyway. Now be prudent and let the good doctor finish making a mummy out of you so we can leave."

"Did he just say prudent?" Melissa asked Danny.

"Yes, he did. It's his vocabulary word for the day. Use a new word five times and it's yours for life."

"Well, Detective, I'm almost done here. If you are prudent with your care, you will heal well and be nice and safe while your partner gets shot at without you."

Danny and Steve exchanged a brief, knowing look. The doctor apparently thought he was a comedian.

Danny looked completely baffled. "You say that like it's a good thing."

"Do you like getting shot at?" the doctor asked.

"Of course not. I'm not like Rambo there who needs to be shot at every other day like he needs to breathe."

Now it was the doctor's turn to be perplexed. "Then why is being on desk duty such a bad thing?" he asked.

"If you have to know, my psycho army partner there…" Danny's head and left hand both indicated Steve.

"Navy," Steve corrected without Danny skipping a beat.

"…doesn't believe in back up. You see, I'm his back up." Danny pointed to himself. "If I'm not there to watch his back, there's no telling what kind of trouble he'll get into." The doctor finished up and Danny slid to his feet, with more energy than he had for the last few hours. Rants were good for his soul.

Steve helped him put his pants on while he kept talking. The doctor watched and listened, totally engrossed in the interaction between the two men.

Danny went on. "The animal thinks he's bullet proof. So now, I have to go to PT, sit at the office and play with the phones and computers and worry that this Super Seal, who happens to be my best friend on this whole pineapple infested island…"

"Just on the island?" Steve asked with a pout on his face as he zipped and buttoned Danny's pants.

"Ok, well, best friend in the whole world. Is that better Princess?" he asked Steve, garnering a smile in return. Now Steve was helping him get his left arm into the Oxford shirt that Melissa brought for him. "Where was I? Oh yeah, I have to worry that Super SEAL here might not come back in one piece. Frankly doctor, I'd rather get shot at with him than be safe somewhere while he's getting shot at without me."

They both looked at the doctor. It made complete sense to Danny and Steve.

"Fascinating," the doctor said with a shake of his head as he left the room.

Steve buttoned a couple buttons so the shirt would stay on, and patted Danny on the chest. "There you go, BooBoo. Don't want to excite all the women here in the ER with that chest of yours."

Melissa went to get her car while Steve helped Danny limp to the door. One step on his injured leg and the adrenaline crash had kicked in again.

Danny had a rough couple months coming up – again. But they had made it through this day together and they knew they could make it through anything together, these two brothers of the heart. Tomorrow, they would come up with a plan to go after the bad guys who now knew they were on to them. They would do it together. Chin, Kono and Lou would be right there with them.

Settling Danny in the passenger seat, Steve reached to close the car door.

"Love ya!"

"Love ya too!"

The end

A/N Before anyone asks, I have no intention of writing more chapters of this where the team finds and captures the "bad guys". That's why I kept it vague. I have no ideas for it, no experience writing procedurals and I just don't have a good feel for writing the rest of the team. The Dynamic Duo write themselves. The others are work for me.

A/N Thank you so much to everyone who has taken the time to review. I appreciate them all and all of the follows and faves as well. The reviews that specifically address what you like are the best. They help me know what works and inspire me to write more. Mahalo.

The end


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